Rafael Nadal defeated defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final, 7–5, 1–6, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 2021 Italian Open. It was his record-extending tenth Italian Open title and record-equaling 36th and last Masters 1000 title overall (matching Djokovic's tally). Nadal saved two match points en route to the title, in the third round against Denis Shapovalov. This marked the fourth tournament won by Nadal on 10 or more occasions (in addition to the French Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Barcelona Open), making him the only men’s tennis player to win more than two tournaments 10 or more times.
It was Djokovic's sixth runner-up finish at the Italian Open, a record for the most runners-up finishes at one event on the ATP Tour (Djokovic equaled this record later that year at the US Open). The final marked Djokovic and Nadal's sixth meeting in the Italian Open final (following 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2019).
Lorenzo Sonego was the first Italian man to reach the semifinals in Rome since Filippo Volandri in 2007.
Seeds The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round.
Draw
Finals
Top half
Section 1
Section 2
Bottom half
Section 3
Section 4
Qualifying
Seeds
Qualifiers
Lucky losers
Qualifying draw
First qualifier
Second qualifier
Third qualifier
Fourth qualifier
Fifth qualifier
Sixth qualifier
Seventh qualifier
ATP singles main-draw entrants
Seeds The following are the seeded players. Seedings are based on ATP rankings as of 3 May 2021. Rankings and points before are as of 10 May 2021. SeedRankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints wonPoints afterStatus 1 1 Novak Djokovic 11,463 1,000 600 11,063 Runner-up, lost to Rafael Nadal 2 3 Rafael Nadal 9,630 1,000 1,000 9,630 Champion, defeated Novak Djokovic 3 2 Daniil Medvedev 9,780 10 45 9,815 Second round lost to Aslan Karatsev 4 4 Dominic Thiem 8,365 10 90 8,445 Third round lost to Lorenzo Sonego 5 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7,610 360 180 7,430 Quarterfinals lost to Novak Djokovic 6 6 Alexander Zverev 6,945 10 180 7,115 Quarterfinals lost to Rafael Nadal 7 7 Andrey Rublev 6,000 90 180 6,090 Quarterfinals lost to Lorenzo Sonego 8 10 Diego Schwartzman 3,765 345 45 3,465 Second round lost to Félix Auger-Aliassime 9 9 Matteo Berrettini 4,048 180 90 3,958 Third round lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 10 11 Roberto Bautista Agut 3,170 0 45 3,215 Third round lost to Andrey Rublev 11 12 Pablo Carreño Busta 3,050 10 45 3,085 Second round, withdrew due to a low back injury 12 13 David Goffin 2,875 45 45 2,875 Second round lost to Federico Delbonis [Q] 13 14 Denis Shapovalov 2,855 360 180 2,675 Third round lost to Rafael Nadal 14 15 Gaël Monfils 2,703 10 10 2,703 First round lost to Lorenzo Sonego 15 19 Hubert Hurkacz 2,543 55 10 2,498 First round retired against Lorenzo Musetti [WC] 16 17 Grigor Dimitrov 2,586 90 0 2,496
Other entrants The following players received wild cards into the main singles draw: Salvatore Caruso Gianluca Mager Lorenzo Musetti Stefano Travaglia
The following players received entry from the singles qualifying draw: Roberto Carballés Baena Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Federico Delbonis Hugo Dellien Kamil Majchrzak Cameron Norrie Tommy Paul
The following players received entry as lucky losers: Aljaž Bedene Yoshihito Nishioka
Withdrawals Before the tournament Borna Ćorić → replaced by Miomir Kecmanović Roger Federer → replaced by Reilly Opelka John Isner → replaced by Laslo Đere Guido Pella → replaced by Yoshihito Nishioka Casper Ruud → replaced by Aljaž Bedene Stan Wawrinka → replaced by Lloyd Harris
During the tournament Pablo Carreño Busta
Retirements Hubert Hurkacz
References
External links Main draw Qualifying draw